Onboarding That Works: Setting New Hires Up for Success

In this final episode of The Delegation Download: The People Puzzle series, Ashley Carlson and Nichole Hughes dive into one of the most overlooked yet essential parts of the hiring process: onboarding.

They unpack why onboarding isn’t just a formality after the hire, but the foundation for long-term success. From early missteps to refined systems, Ashley and Nichole share real lessons learned and how a lack of structure can lead to confusion, delays, and even turnover.

The conversation walks through what effective onboarding actually looks like, including setting clear expectations, creating a 30/60/90-day plan, and building strong communication rhythms from day one. They also highlight the importance of welcome packets, early wins, and assigning support systems to help new hires feel confident and connected.

Whether you’re onboarding your first team member or refining your current process, this episode offers practical strategies and mindset shifts to help you create a clear, consistent, and impactful onboarding experience that sets everyone up for success.

Takeaways

• Onboarding is where the real work begins after hiring.
• A strong onboarding process sets the tone for employee success.
• Lack of structure can lead to confusion, delays, and turnover.
• Clear role expectations build confidence from day one.
• Regular check-ins strengthen relationships and uncover challenges early.
• A welcome packet provides clarity, alignment, and direction.
• Early wins help build momentum and engagement.
• Communication should be proactive, not assumed.
• Onboarding is a two-way learning experience for both the leader and the hiree.
• Clarity and consistency matter more than perfection.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to the Delegation Download Podcast, where business owners, CEOs, and leaders learn to work smarter, not harder.

SPEAKER_00 0:07

We're your hosts, Nicole Hughes and Ashley Carlson, here to share real stories, expert tips, and welcome back to series two of the Delegation Download, The People Puzzle, Building Your Dream Team. This series is your guide to hiring with clarity, confidence, and strategy because the right people don't just fill roles, they fuel your vision. Whether you're making your first hire or reconstructing for scale will help you solve the hiring puzzle piece by piece.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

This is our final episode of the series, and today's topic is something that often gets overlooked during the hiring process. However, it is just as important as making the hire itself. So today's topic is onboarding.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

That's right. Because hiring someone is not the finish line. Onboarding is where the real work and the real magic begins. But before we dive in to the topic of onboarding today, we have a special announcement to make.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

And I'm accepting accepting it, but I'm definitely accepting it on behalf of the team. And so to have also fallen in that team category, it just, it's a huge honor. And I'm really excited.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

Yeah, it's amazing. Well, and I think it's just a, it just speaks to our team culture as a whole at here at Elevate. Our team culture starts at onboarding. It starts in the conversations that we're having with the hires that we're bringing on to Elevate. It is not something that we start after the fact. It starts from day one through the entire relationship, entire working relationship. And obviously, somebody else is seeing that and we're getting rewarded for it. So that's amazing. Yes. Yes. So, all right, now let's rewind a little bit and let's go back to the onboarding and hiring. Ashley, what are some of the things that you learned when you first started onboarding the first few employees at Elevate? Well, one of those was you.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

And I think that I mean, all the first thing that comes to my mind is that wow, we definitely did not have it figured out from the start. It was very much the build the plane while we're flying it type of thing. So there was definitely a lack of structure that caused delays, confusion, and I'm sure some turnover in those early days. So it's hard to think about, but I also recognize how far we've come. And I also think that in the very beginning, I actually was just talking about this earlier today with someone that in in the very beginning, you tend to just think of hiring as just the hiring, right? Let's just just find the right person, do the application, interview. Okay, they're hired, let's move on. And you're not really thinking about all the onboarding, or even what comes with that is the annual review process and you know, all of those things or the measuring of success throughout their time with you, all of those things beyond the hiring part. It's it's really interesting, especially for those of us who come with from a world of corporate. I think that that is kind of just it's just it feels like a given in the corporate world that when you are now building your own business and hiring your own team, you realize, oh gosh, I don't have that in place. I need it. So it definitely is a case of, you know, like I said, building the plane while flying it. And the other, I think one of the lessons that I learned is that onboarding, like you just said, is that is the like most important opportunity to build confidence, connection with these people, alignment in your mission, clarity of what success looks like. So from day one, it is so important that all of that is built in. And I think that we have learned along the way how to how to do that and how to do it well. And it was definitely not something that Elevate was born with by any means.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

So those are you're setting the tone, right? With onboarding that sets the tone for how the partnership is gonna be. And so it just makes a huge difference.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Yeah, absolutely. I think I think it's very easy to overlook the importance of the process and or the importance, like how impactful it can be for a new hire for someone to truly feel like they are being welcomed as part of the team. They are from day one, aligned with everything, and and it's clear to them what what what the heck am I doing here? So as far as what onboarding looks like um and what we've learned along the way, I have some things that I would love to share as far as the must-haves. And it's not just here's your login, beyond your merry way. Some things that we like to include are a 30, 60, 90 plan at third within 30 days, what can they expect? 60 days, 90 days, et cetera. So, really, what does that first 90 days with this company look like? Like a map, if you will. So that way expectations are clear and also clear role expectations. What exactly am I in charge of as a new hire to this business? Where, you know, who am I going to be communicating with the most? Where can I expect to head to meetings? All of those things, just really clear role expectations. And in regards to that, anything that was within their role expectations, you want to make sure they have all the access that they need. So all the tools, all the logins, all the systems. And for us, this is obviously we've talked about it really huge, but introduct introduction to the team is so important and also the team culture. So, what do meetings look like? Where do they find the break room? What are your mission, vision, and core values? We have that, yes, on our job descriptions, but it is also on their welcome packet with that framework of onboarding because repeatedly letting them know what it is like here is so important. And then we also do weekly check-ins. So one-on-one check-ins, we personally have it with a variety of people each week. It's not just the same person. We purposely build a framework that new hires meet with everyone or uh different people of leadership one-to-one. So that way they get different perspectives. They can ask questions about their onboarding to each person. Um, and it allows them to get to know people on a one-on-one basis. So that's what our onboarding looks like and piece and pieces of it that I think make it successful.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Yeah. They, they, I can speak for myself because I've gone through our onboarding process. Even when it was like in the infancy stages of it, even then, going through the onboarding process, I knew what was expected of me. I knew what I was doing. Even though we didn't have all of our systems and all of our processes and our training all set up to a T like we do now, there were still very clear expectations of what was expected of me, what I needed to do, who elevate was. So I didn't walk in blind. I never turned a corner and was like, I don't know what I'm doing here. Did I need clarification on some things? Sure, you're gonna need that, even if your training and your onboarding is to a T, but I never walked around a corner and was like, I have no idea what to do here at all. So kudos to you, especially in our baby years.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Yes. And I mean, I think it's also that's an important piece too, is having a culture from the start of questions are welcome and okay. We say it all the time, even with our onboarding process now. When when we look at our onboarding process, we think it makes a whole lot of sense. But we also live and breathe it all the time. So when we do get new hires and new team members, we tell them from the start, hey, if something isn't making sense to you because you're looking at it with a brand new fresh set of eyes, please let us know. And every time we onboard, someone might say, Hey, this maybe a link is broken or a, you know, just something that has changed that we didn't realize was mapped out. And so small changes even, um, but it gives them an opportunity to ask questions and provide value right from the start. So don't be afraid to have a culture of please, you know, ask questions, point things out that don't make sense. Now, Nicole, I feel like you have seen so many teams go through onboarding, whether it is with Elevate or with our clients. I know you've been a piece of helping clients of ours when they need to graduate from our services and onto a full-time person. You have actually been a piece of building out an onboarding process and hiring. So I'd love to hear from you. What do you think are the biggest wins that have led to long-term success?

SPEAKER_00 8:55

Gosh, there's so I think that onboarding wins are just as important as like figuring out what's not working right, because I think that one thing that's really important is giving early wins to your new hire. So, like you were saying, when they express that something doesn't make sense or they flag something that maybe is not accurate anymore, that's a win. Whether you look at it as, oh gosh, now I have something else that I need to fix. No, you have somebody who has an attention to detail and they just were able to flag something that is not right. So that there alone is like, yep, we made the right hire because this person has attention to detail. They noticed it, even though we maybe have missed that on the training when something gets updated or whatever the case is. So having those early wins for your new hire is super important. It builds momentum, it builds trust, it builds their confidence in the new role that they are now taking on. I also think that we love SOPs. And so making sure that you have SOPs that are there to explain what the processes are and give clear expectations of how to do it, when to do it, why to do it, like giving all of the details in a document so you're not having to sit and explain it over and over to each new hire that you have. Have it written down and then you can just hand it to somebody and say, please review this, let me know if you have any questions. This one's a funny one, but don't assume that anything is common sense. Overcommunicate from the very beginning. Ask all the questions. Tell them, ask me all the questions. If it doesn't make sense to you, then it probably doesn't make sense to somebody else. So, how can we better this for somebody in the future to better understand it? You had mentioned it earlier, a welcome packet. So our welcome packet here at Elevate has our mission, our vision, our values. It has who our leadership team is, who you reach out to, our hours of operation. Again, these things are not common sense because we live in a virtual world and a lot of people are remote. Working hours when you are at home aren't necessarily that nine to five. So be clear on what your working hours are. What tools are you using in your business? Are you in Google Workspace or are you in Outlook? Those are two different things. Set those expectations from the beginning and just give guidance to make the new hire that you have feel set up for success. Because I think that that is a very important part of any onboarding that welcome packet, because it just gives a like a little snapshot of who you are. Um, and like you said earlier about the weekly sinks, touching base, making sure things are going good. We have account managers here at Elevate that have team members that they help support and clients that they help support. We also have Amanda, who is our mops, and so she oversees all of that. But as a new hire, you're meeting with certain people based on where you're at on in your onboarding. So when you're in your training process, you're meeting with Ashley, Amanda, and I. Once you finish your training, you're with your account manager, but people are constantly checking in. We have that open door for communication, but it just allows them to build connection with people on the team and not just one person in particular. So I would say that those are my top wins for onboarding, but there's so much more that goes into it.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

Yeah, absolutely. I uh laughed when you said don't assume common sense. Um, for me, that has been something really difficult and not necessarily common sense, but just the way that my brain works and the the way that I approach things or do things. And that has been a huge eye-opener because when I am hiring people to maybe replace what I'm doing, for example, or processes that I feel like should be pretty easy to follow versus maybe just doesn't come naturally to people or whatever that might be. That has been a huge learning lesson for me. That, oh gosh, I need to explain this a little bit better because it isn't natural, or maybe it's just become natural for me because I've done it a hundred times. It's very hard to remember that sometimes people just it isn't an innate thing that comes to them. So that has been when you said that, I just kind of laughed because that definitely is relatable for me.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

Yeah. Well, and you you go into tendencies, right? When you're doing something for so long, you have certain tendencies that you know they just live in your brain, rent-free. They're there all the time. But when you pass something off or you're trying to train somebody on a new task that they're taking over, you may forget to mention that. And so when they come to you with a question that you think they should know, you're like, oh wait, that just lives here. It doesn't live anywhere else. It's not documented anywhere. It just lives in my brain. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

I've definitely learned that just a few hours of prep on my end can make a huge difference, or on our end, can make a huge difference with how quickly someone ramps up. They get to the point that they are ready to jump in and do the job and do it well autonomously for the most part. And so I think that I think just starting with some sort of baseline is where you want to be, some sort of strong foundation. And then, like we talked about, the lessons that either you learn or they point out along the way at every new hire, make sure that you're updating it preemptively, because I know that that also is something that is hard to do when things are pointed out and you're like, oh, well, I'm not, I this new hire pointed this out, but I'm not gonna be hiring for another six months. We're gonna forget. It may not seem important, but make sure you're making those tweaks along the way. So just a little a little bit of prep goes goes a really long way.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Yeah, and it doesn't need to be complicated. The onboarding process does not need to be complicated, it just needs to be intentional. And that's what it is is you're investing a little bit of your time and energy at the forefront so that everyone, yourself included as the business owner or the hiring manager, or whatever your role is that you're training a new hire, everyone is set up for success. So I'd love to know or talk about what outside of the welcome packet, and we can get into a little bit more details with that, but in the welcome packet, what do you think are some very important things that should be included to set everyone up for success?

SPEAKER_01 14:59

That's a great question. So I think in the welcome packet for us, we already mentioned it mission, vision, core values. I think having that very clearly stated from the start is really important. I always say that to the new hires, I want you to be familiar, especially with our core values from the start, because those truly are the reason why we do everything that we do. This is really every decision, every process is pretty much comes from those core values. We also have, you know, the logins and all those details, all of the tools. On that, the welcome packet, we actually have it's basically a checklist of what they can do by themselves before they meet with us. And then we go through it together when we meet with them to maybe talk through a little bit more detail. Screen share for us, we're in a remote environment. So we can uh we walk through a lot of the things, make sure they're really, really comfortable with the tools that we use daily as a team. So for us, that's Slack, that's ClickUp, that's uh Google Workspace. So kind of a little bit of a of a tour, if you will, is what we do on the call. But on the on the welcome packet is more of just getting in, right? Like have helping all the links and ways that they need to get into everything. And then on the call, we actually walk through it.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

Yeah, I think that walking, having them walk through it before they actually eat with you, not only are you saving them time, you're saving yourself time, right? So again, you are investing at the forefront to set everyone up for success. You do not have an additional meeting on your calendar or a prolonged meeting on your calendar so that they can just log in and you can watch them do all that. No, they're doing it all before, and that way they have questions and they come to you with questions because we have to remember that onboarding is not a one-way street. It's also your time as the hiring manager, as a business owner, to learn how your new hire works, right? And that only happens through communication. So again, back to the check-ins. Having those regular check-ins is super important for a new hire.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Yeah, it is. The weekly check-ins for us, it's a great point that you just brought up. The it's an opportunity for, of course, them to come and ask questions, us to add clarify. You know, we have it, our training process is built out. The onboarding, like first 30 days is with the weekly check-ins is actually built out. They do what we call pillars. So they actually we have purposeful, okay. This week you're gonna learn about this, and then we will sync one-on-one with you to clarify how that went, any questions, and so on and so forth. So for us, of course, it's it's a knowledge check, if you will, but it also is to ask them and to get to know them and how their brains work and maybe some strengths and weaknesses that we didn't identify in the hiring process and how to best integrate them to the team, things like that. So we will check with them on, you know, what's working well for them so far, what's making the most sense, where are they stuck, what is just really not making sense, things that are maybe unclear or again, things that they've seen that just don't like the the link is expired or whatever it might be. So it's a really good opportunity to get to know them a bit more one-on-one. And like I said, knowledge check, but also just more of a how we work together type of thing. It's a we have been, I will say that one of the most common things that we hear during the those first 30 days with the the training offline that they do, like asynchronous and then the one-on-ones that they have, they I've heard time and time again, this is so great because they have, they can soak things up in the speed that works for them and the way that works for them, but then there's still plenty of opportunity. We set in where we want them to come with questions, where we want to get to know them a little bit. And I think that that's it just feels great for everybody.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Yeah. Well, and I think you had mentioned you get to learn maybe a strength or a weakness that you didn't realize during the hiring process. And I want to make it very clear that just because you identify a weakness during the onboarding process does not mean that you have set yourself up for failure because they have a weakness that you didn't see during hiring. That is a learning opportunity. Take that time to teach them, take that time to train them, take that time, make that an opportunity to grow rather than dwell on the fact that maybe this weakness came out after you have already given them the offer and they have already logged into their email and you've already set them up in your payment portal, but make it an opportunity to do something different and to grow from that. So I think that just having, like you said, the communication and allowing to meet with them on a regular basis, not only does it allow you to identify opportunities for growth, but it also allows you to prevent bigger issues down the road because you are getting to know them from the start.

SPEAKER_01 19:45

Yeah, absolutely. I think that a lot of what has to do with or with hiring and with onboarding and all of that comes some mindset shifts that we need to, as hiring managers, founders, whatever who wherever you might be in your leadership journey, um, and if you are hiring people, there are a few mindset shifts that I want to make sure you're aware of. Go from they'll figure it out to I will give them the clarity that they need to succeed. If you've identified, like you just said, if you've identified a growth opportunity, maybe a weakness in some way, nobody's gonna step in and know everything perfectly and fit perfectly. Like we're just we're all humans, we're all slightly different. So identifying the parts that maybe require a little bit more training or coaching, I think it's our job to lift them up in those areas because once they are, they're gonna excel. So just making sure that we are realizing that we we have a big ownership piece in that. The other gap that we see is I don't have time to prep. So we want to make sure that you are shifting that to investing just a little bit of time is really going to save weeks of time later. Think about if you put a little bit of time into this amazing person who is onboarding to your team, if you put just a little bit of time, a couple of hours into setting them up for success, what that will, what the ROI of that will be for you and your business. And then I also want you to shift from I hired them just to take things off my plate to it's my job to set them up to take things off my plate. So what I mean by that is I think you alluded to it earlier is SOPs, right? So even if you don't have time to write SOPs and all of that, you want to make sure it's really clear what you need from them and really clear of how they're going to take those things off your plate. So some sort of framework, whether it is a bunch of loom recordings or um to-do list that's maybe just a little bit organized, right? Into buckets or containers of type of work, things like that. So making sure that there's a really clear way of how they're going to take things off of your plate.

SPEAKER_00 21:57

Yeah. Those are great. They're great. And I think Everybody should take those, write them down on your post-it, put them on your computer. So, well, that's it, guys. That is a wrap on our People Puzzle series. We hope that you found this final episode super informative and impactful and that it gave you the tools not just to hire, but this whole series has given you the tools to build a team that thrives.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Yes. And remember that onboarding isn't about being perfect. It's about being clear and consistent. Thanks for tuning in to the People Puzzle series on the Delegation Download. If this episode brought you one step closer to your dream team, hit follow and share it with another leader who's building too. And don't forget to grab your free hiring resources at the link in the show notes. You've got this.